Caribou hunting households reported hunting alone 24 percent of the time. Forty-one percent of the hunts were with one other household, 19 percent with two other households, and in 15 percent of the cases, three or four hunters from other households participated. Information was missing for only one hunting event (2 percent). Hunting parties consisted of relatives (39 percent of all hunting events), friends (14 percent), and both relatives and friends (20 percent). Hunters hunted alone 24 percent of the time.
Among successful harvesting groups, caribou were almost always divided in equal shares among the hunters. This was reported 95 percent of the time. Eighty-six percent of successful caribou hunters reported sharing their catch with other households in the community, and 36 percent shared their catch with households outside Kaktovik as well. Relatives and friends in Fairbanks, Barrow, and Anchorage were mentioned as the recipients of caribou meat shared outside the community. Respondents were asked to make a general estimate of the amounts of caribou shared with other households. Most respondents estimated they shared "some" or "half" of the catch.
In 1987-88, 84 percent of households in Kaktovik reported receiving caribou from another household in the community; 14 percent reported not receiving any caribou and 2 percent of households did not answer this question. In addition, 51 percent of households reported they received caribou from relatives and friends residing in other North Slope communities. Shares of caribou were received from Anaktuvuk Pass (72 percent), Barrow (25 percent), and Nuiqsut (3 percent). . . .